A Fine Line
By John Herlihy

A fine line heaven does trace,
Creating patterns of intricate lace.
Every stroke of the pen separates
What lies beyond celestial gates.

A fine line lies thinly traced
Between appetite and greed.
Appetite finds a rightful place,
Greed will have us go to seed.

Look closely to see the fine line,
As emotions define our humanity.
Without the integrity of our spine,
Emotions betray our inhumanity.

In the fine lines of the human face,
Tracings of happiness and sorrow.
Happiness bestows lingering grace,
Sadness lost in the folds of tomorrow.

I always try to draw a visible line
Between loneliness and solitude.
Loneliness always has us pine,
While solitude exudes beatitude.

A thin line of strength and timidity
Between the two doth lie our fate.
Strength always inspires solidity,
But timidity shies away from hate.

I choose to recall another fine line
I walk between the sweet and bitter.
Sweetness drenched in rose wine,
Bitterness merely a runt of the litter.

Forget not the line of life and death
One moment we are fused with light,
Drawn from the air as living breath,
To disappear into the depths of night.

Finally, the mystical line that is drawn,
Universal mystery and human wisdom.
Life’s mystery washes over us as dawn,
Therein we escape the human kingdom.

What is this fine line but itself existence,
The challenge, the struggle, the distance.
Always wanting more than we could give,
Walk a fine line, to hope, to dream, to live.